Ottawa mobilizing military resources to help fight wildfires in B.C.

Federal assistance including military resources are being mobilized to help British Columbia's fight against hundreds of wildfires, Canada'a Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair announced Friday.

Blair said in a tweet he has approved a request for federal assistance to aid firefighters and emergency management personnel who are "working tirelessly" in B.C.

The assistance will come from across federal departments and the Canadian Armed Forces, Blair said.

Bowinn Ma, B.C.'s minister of emergency management and climate readiness, said in a statement she is grateful to the federal government for its support.

"We look forward to welcoming federal resources in B.C. to assist with wildfire response efforts as soon as possible,'' she said. "They will work alongside the approximate 2,000 B.C. Wildfire Service personnel across our province, in addition to further international resources arriving this weekend.

"We will continue to use every tool necessary to keep people and communities safe."

Ma said Thursday she had made the request, while Blair said earlier that he expected B.C. to seek "fairly substantive" assistance.

Blair said at the time that federal help could include military assistance for airlift evacuations from remote locations, as well as troops trained as firefighters who can "mop up" to keep blazes from reigniting.

The B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) said in a statement Friday that it has a "long history of working in partnership with the federal government during particularly challenging wildfire seasons."

"We continue to work closely with the federal government and are grateful for the announcement that assistance has been mobilized," the statement said.

CBC has reached out to the Department of National Defence for more information on when resources could arrive.

B.C. has also asked for 1,000 foreign firefighters to help relieve local crews, Ma said Thursday.

The BCWS is reporting the total number of active fires in the province has topped 360, while the number of threatening or potentially damaging blazes has jumped to 17.

B.C. would welcome all additional firefighters and equipment as hot weather and afternoon lightning storms keep fire conditions extreme and strain resources, said B.C. Wildfire Service spokesman Cliff Chapman on Thursday.